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Thursday, May 1, 2014

What you see is what you get

If you want to draw, pick a pencil and a piece of paper. It’s as easy as that. But what if you want to make a game or a website or a logo or…? There are so many tools today which simplify these difficult processes. And I love them.

If you are a gamer there is quite a big chance that you also thought about making games. So did I. When I was a few years younger I discovered a program called Game Maker. And however it was still hard to get started, it was way easier than learning to code and starting developing in a difficult engine. But it has to be even easier. It should be for everyone. Pixel Press is like Game Maker 2.0, at least its idea: “Draw your own video game. Bring your video game ideas to life, simply by drawing.” That sounds amazing, huh? Wait a few years, when its technology is even more advanced.

Creative tools are great and especially when they are easy to use. Medium is one of them. What you see is what you get tools are the future, because they are for everyone. Imagine a future where everyone could make websites or apps. It’s already happening.

I’m not a designer, but I do like to create things. Programs like Photoshop are expensive and difficult, but there are always free and easier alternatives. Sometimes you could also use programs that you wouldn’t have called an alternative in the first place.

This is a Google Glass concept I created. And perhaps there are lots of things wrong with it, but it looks good to me. I didn’t make this in Photoshop, Illustrator or whatever, but in a tool that is actually meant for making ads: Google Web Designer. Of course it has its limits, but for a product that is still in beta, it’s already really great.

I’m not a web developer, but I like to make sites. I know quite a lot about HTML and to a lesser extent PHP and JavaScript, but by far not enough to create a full website. Webflow is the solution. I created this prototype site without writing a single line of code, from the comfort of my webbrowser. It’s easy enough for me, but it could even be easier.

This is only the beginning for both Web Designer and Webflow, but the technology is very promising. I think it’s the future of web development. Webflow apparently already turned down acquisition offers, so that confirms my thoughts. Whether it’s Webflow or simplified code, it should be available to everyone.